as long as he goes sound ; and the old shoe 

 will tell you by the way it is worn whether 

 he is landing level or not. 



One of the best trotters I ever saw perform 

 had a very crooked hind ankle, and the trainer 

 that raced him with success "shod him 

 crooked," as he expressed it. After he fell into 

 other hands an attempt was made to straighten 

 him up and he broke down in that ankle the 

 next time he was worked out. 



A little study of the colt's feet and legs, a 

 little careful, intelligent treatment of them 

 before he is shod, or before he is old enough 

 to be shod, will save you many hours of worry 

 and anxiety and much money. 



Some of my many readers will say : "That 

 entails a lot of time and trouble." It cer- 

 tainly does if you wish to look at it in that 

 light ; but to the real enthusiast, and to the 

 man who is raising trotters and pacers for the 

 market, it is a genuine pleasure to "fuss" with 

 them, knowing that he is correcting the faults 

 that they unwittingly — like little children — • 

 bring upon themselves, and is thereby aiding 

 them to become useful if not famous race 

 horses. 



There is much that can be done with the 

 colt before he is shod that will benefit him, 

 his owner and his trainer. A pretty good idea 

 of what he will need in the matter of shoes, 

 weights, etc., can be obtained by driving him 

 barefoot a few times, being careful, of course, 

 that his feet are properly rounded and leveled 

 and his quarters protected with nice-fitting bell 



10 



